Fight the Good Fight

 “The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Isaiah prophesied, “Listen! A thunderous noise is heard on the mountain, like that of a massive multitude. Listen! Kingdoms are in an uproar; nations are assembling together. The almighty Lord Yahweh is mustering an army for war. They are coming from a faraway land, from the end of the heavens. Here comes Yahweh with His instruments of judgment, ready to ravage the entire earth.”  This was a prophesy Isaiah spoke against Babylon which happened some years later. In our time, it is for the Church to awake as Joel said, “Blow the shofar in Zion, sound the alarm on My mountain of holiness! Shake the people awake, for the day of Yahweh is coming. Yes, it is almost here.”  Paul also warns us of “the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His messengers of power within a flame of fire. He will bring perfect and full justice to those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to embrace the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, banished from the Lord’s Presence and from the manifestation of His glorious power. This will happen on that day when He glorifies His holy ones, and they will be marveled at in all those who believed—including you, since in fact, you believed our message.”  Even Jude says, “He comes to execute judgment against them all and to convict each one of them for their ungodly deeds and for all the terrible words that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”  The heavenly sons and daughters of God are also consecrated, mighty ones and warriors, who rejoice in Christ’s triumphant victory.  Today let’s fight the good fight of faith in our spiritual warfare for victory, to God’s glory.  Amen!

Called Christians - To Whom Supernatural Revelation Comes

 “and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭11‬:‭26‬ ‭KJV‬

Dr. Luke records, “Together Saul and Barnabas ministered there for a full year, equipping the growing church and teaching the vast number of new converts. It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first revealed as “anointed ones”.  The meaning in Greek of Christians is “supernaturally revealed” which is much more than “called”. Supernatural revelation is to be valued by mankind because the God Who created mankind is supernatural and when He gives revelation, we must be honoured to receive it.  Jesus Christ became human, died and rose again and through faith in Christ’s sacrifice, we are now those anointed ones to whom supernatural revelation comes and we are privileged to receive it.  It is exclusive and not for the rest of the world who don’t believe.  God called us and simply through faith we become not only the called, but the chosen and the faithful.  As John the Revelator saw, “the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of Lords and King of kings! Those who are with Him will also conquer them, and they are called ‘chosen ones’ and ‘faithful ones.’”  Let’s be privileged that we are recipients of supernatural revelation which is sacrosanct!  How glorious, how awesome is our God that He chooses to impart to us supernatural revelation of the mysteries of the glorious Gospel and that we are called Christians.  Amen!

Drinking with Joy the Water of Life

 “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Isaiah prophesied, “With triumphant joy you will drink deeply from the wells of salvation.”  These wells or springs or fountains are never ending because this Water of Life represents the Jesus Life in us.  That’s what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “If you drink from Jacob’s well, you’ll be thirsty again, but if anyone drinks the Living Water I give them, they will never be thirsty again. For when you drink the Water I give you, it becomes a gushing Fountain of the Holy Spirit, flooding you with endless Life!”  John the beloved disciple saw this revelation “For the Lamb at the center of the Throne continuously shepherds them unto Life —guiding them to the Everlasting Fountain of the Water of Life”.  Today, every born again, born of the Spirit son and daughter of God, is a Living Well of Salvation, that container which brings the Water of Life to others.  Amen!

The Power of the Gospel all Across the World

 “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭48‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Dr. Luke records, “So he instructed them to be baptized in the power of the Name of Jesus, the Anointed One. After their baptism, they asked Peter to stay with them for a few more days.”  At last the Gospel broke through and penetrated into the non-Jewish cultures and people groups.  The Holy Spirit is now uniting Jewish believers and non-Jewish believers into one mystical Body of Christ on the earth.  Because of this, there would no longer be a distinction between Jew and non-Jew, but one family of believers formed by faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul got this revelation that we have all become true children of God by faith in Jesus Christ! Faith immersed us into Christ, and now we are covered and clothed with His life and we no longer see each other in our former state—Jew or non-Jew, rich or poor, male or female—because we’re all one through our union with Jesus Christ. And if we belong to Christ, then we are now Abraham’s “child” and a true heir of all his blessings because of the promise God made to Abraham!  The three conversions of: the Ethiopian (a descendant of Ham), Saul of Tarsus (Shem’s descendant) and Cornelius (Japheth’s descendant) - all the sons of Noah - they prove of the power of the Gospel of Christ our God - all were converted.  Still the Gospel’s power is the same today because our God is the same unchanging God.  People are coming to Christ among the Jews, in the Middle East, the Americans, the Chinese, the Africans, in India and all continents on the globe to the glory of God.  Amen!

The Spirit of Yahweh

 “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭11‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Isaiah prophesied, “the Spirit of Yahweh will rest upon Him, the Spirit of Extraordinary Wisdom, the Spirit of Perfect Understanding, the Spirit of Wise Strategy, the Spirit of Mighty Power, the Spirit of Revelation, and the Spirit of the Fear of Yahweh.”  The Spirit of Yahweh is the Spirit of prophecy, the manifest Presence of God resting upon the Lord Jesus.  John the Baptist witnessed it, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon Him.”  The Spirit of Extraordinary Wisdom brings skilfulness and equipping ability and wisdom for judicial decisions, creativity in music, art, business, writing and such which Paul prayed for churches, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened”. The Spirit of Perfect Understanding is that of intelligent insight imparting the ability to discern the truth, decipher parables and allegories, the meaning of riddles and puzzling dreams - the anointing of this was on Joseph and Daniel.  The Spirit of Wise Strategy is that of guidance, counsel, advice or purpose and is the anointing that imparts wisdom and counsel needed for spiritual leadership.  The Spirit of Mighty Power is what ensures our victory to overcome the enemy who accuses us all the time by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.  The Spirit of Revelation is the knowledge that comes from experiencing intimacy with God.  The Spirit of the Fear of Yahweh, is the absolute loyalty and obedience, reverence, wonder and awe that we have to our God that makes us shine with His Light.  The same Spirit of Yahweh is on us who have received our Pentecost.  Amen!

God’s Gracious Gift of Christ’s Fullness to Us

 “And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Dr. Luke records that, “The Lord said, “Go at once to the street called Abundance and look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. You will find him at Judah’s house. While he was praying, he saw in a supernatural vision a man named Ananias coming to lay hands upon him to restore his sight.”  The conversion of Saul the legalist into Paul the grace preacher is a lesson to us - we can be amazingly wrong while thinking we are doing right.  The Holy Spirit awakens our hearts to feast on Christ, our righteousness.  Religion has a deadening effect on our hearts.  Like Saul, we have to fall off our “high horse” and bite the dust before our blinded eyes can see.  Ananias, which means “God’s gracious gift” or “Yah is merciful”, was truly that to Paul, who was healed by God’s gracious gift.  God asked Ananias to live up to his name!  God has given us His gracious gift in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ to all of us who believe and are called His sons so we may be a blessing to others.  For we have all received from Christ’s fullness one gracious gift after another.  Amen!

The Anointing of Christ Teaches Us Everything

 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭10‬:‭27‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Isaiah prophesied, “In that day the Lord will remove the heavy burden from your shoulders and break off the yoke of bondage from your necks because of the heavy anointing upon you!”  It says the yoke is destroyed because of oil (anointing).  Oil is the symbol of the anointing of God.  It is also the imagery of an ox who grew so fat that it shattered the yoke over his neck.  Isaiah prophesied that Assyria’s yoke of bondage will be broken off Judah because they will grow fat, heavy with the anointing of God’s restored favour.  Jesus is the Anointed One in the new covenant and His anointing is now available to all who believe in Him.  Jesus loves righteousness and hates wickedness; therefore God, our God, has set Jesus above His companions by anointing Him with the oil of joy.  This anointing has been given to us.  But the wonderful anointing we have received from God is so much greater than deception and now lives in us. There’s no need for anyone to keep teaching us. His anointing teaches us all that we need to know, for it will lead us into truth, not a counterfeit. So just as the anointing has taught us, let’s remain in Jesus the Anointed One.  Amen!

Genuine Change of Mind towards God’s True Power - Jesus Christ

 “saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭19‬-‭24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Dr. Luke records, “saying, “I want this power too. I’m willing to pay you for the anointing that you have, so that I also can lay my hands on everyone to receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter rebuked him and said, “Your money will go with you to destruction! How could you even think that you could purchase God’s supernatural gift with money? You will never have this gift or take part in this ministry, for your heart is not right with God. Repent this moment for allowing such wickedness to fill you. Plead with the Lord that perhaps He would forgive you the treachery of your heart. For I discern that jealous envy has poisoned you and binds you as a captive to sin.”  All the Samaritan believers were asking for the power of the Holy Spirit to fill them.  Even Simon the sorcerer wanted the same power and authority, offering money for it. Peter instantly told him that he had no portion in this faith for he was cursed since he operated in bitter anger and control, telling him to repent sincerely for such evil, pleading for mercy.  This is the message to all astrologers, sorcerers and divination gurus, to seek the true God and His true power available simply by genuine change of mind and faith in what Christ did on the Cross personally for each of them.  Amen!

Christ Magnified our Joy

 “Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬ ‭KJV

As Isaiah prophesied, “Lord, you have multiplied the nation and given them overwhelming joy! They are ecstatic in your presence and rejoice like those who bring in a great harvest and those who divide up the spoils of victory!”  God has magnified joy to everyone who receives the Light.  As the Light  of Jesus shines on the earth, it will bring in a harvest of joy and rejoicing.  The people of God are about to arise and spoil the kingdom of darkness, even as Israel spoiled Egypt and went out rejoicing.  God will cause our joy to overflow like those distributing loot after a battle.  Great will be the conversions, the increase and our rejoicing.  Many sons will be brought into glory as the increasing Light of Dawn appears.  With both harvest and victory in battle, people rejoice in what God has done.  A sign of the moving of God among us to fulfil this promise, is an outbreak of joy!? He fills our mouths with laughter as a sign that the great ingathering of the harvest is here.  They joy before God and are ecstatic in His Presence because He has released a heart of worship today.  The Gospel brings joy and those who receive good news, rejoice.  This is the joy of the Feast of Tabernacles.  The two great joys of the human heart come at a time of harvest and a time of victory.  As the increase is brought in, victory is experienced.  What greater joy is there in heaven and earth when souls are saved?  Amen!

Jesus Stood to Welcome Stephen in Heaven

 “and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭56‬, ‭58‬, ‭60‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Dr. Luke recorded, ““Look!” Stephen said. “I can see the heavens opening and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God to welcome me home!” Then they pounced on him and threw him outside the city walls to stone him. His accusers, one by one, placed their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul of Tarsus. He crumpled to his knees and shouted in a loud voice, “Our Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” And then he died.”  Jesus sits at the right hand of God, but when He saw Stephen give his last breath for the Gospel, He stood to welcome His martyr into his eternal reward.  Stephen’s graduation was Saul’s initiation who later would go on to become Paul the apostle after his conversion when he met with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.  As Stephen was about to die, the words that came out of him were the same which Jesus said to forgive His killers for they didn’t know what they were doing.  Let’s consider the example that Jesus, our Lord, has set before us. Let His mindset become our motivation. He existed in the form of God, yet He gave no thought to seizing equality with God as His supreme prize. Instead He emptied Himself of His outward glory by reducing Himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human! He humbled Himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a Man and was obedient. He was a perfect example, even in His death—a criminal’s death by crucifixion! Because of that obedience, God exalted Him  and multiplied His greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names! The authority of the Name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence!  Amen!